Carrying a Legacy
by Cthulujr
Summary: After the death of his bond brother, a lone Mgalekgolo has his destiny intertwined within the land of Alagaesia.
1. Prologue

_ Mekalo Ursa Agah. _That's what he was known as before the Great Schism, though humans and separatists alike simply referred to him as Mekalo. He was a Mgalekgolo, or hunter. His form always bred fear in combat, which was in no short supply during his life. He was glad to join with the UNSC during the Covenant civil war. Only his bond brother knew with absolute certainty he joined out of his respect to the Arbiter and the other elites.

He was well regarded by those that fought beside him, and had made several upgrades to his armor over the course of the war, extending his reliability to allies, and furthering the dread enemies faced when they fell before him. The armor was his personal prize after the war was over, but his service was not yet complete. There were more loyalists in the galaxy that needed to be dealt with, and he was all too happy to bring death to the covenant, especially the brutes.

Hours ago he was attacking an area heavily guarded by loyalists. His mission was to dispatch loyalists guarding a base planet side, though a rumor circulated that a powerful Forerunner artifact was there. With him were 6 ODST, his bond brother, and their Elite commander. They attacked the large loyalist base from above, surprising the covenant there. The ODSTs quickly took care of the Jackals while Mekalo and his bond brother absorbed plasma and needler spikes in the front. When he was close enough he would slice through the brutes with the sharp bottom of the shield, spilling their thick, dark blood over the ground.

There came a point where the base's main area could be accessed, a single door way there. It was probably a trap, but they had a job to do, and they had encountered nothing they couldn't overcome. The doorway slid open to reveal a pedestal, and on that pedestal lay a floating pyramid made of a several black, swirling segments. The top of the pyramid glowed bright white and shone brightly. As they entered the room a large number loyalists ambushed them from the rails on the walls. The ODSTs fought well, taking over 4 times their number, only to eventually fall to the sheer numbers of grunts, brutes, and jackals. The hulking hunters finished the troops with ease. They had always been pleased brutes didn't absorb incendiary gel incredibly well, an understatement hard to beat. They finished cleaning up the troops to witness their commander locked in a duel with the loyalist leader of the base.

The hunters could only watch in fascination. The elites' movements mere blurs. They could not help their commander, lest they risk hurting him or themselves in the process. The loyalist leader went with a quick down strike using his energy sword while their commander pulled out his own sword and swung up to block the strike. They continued their deadly dance with several minutes, leaving the hunters to only see traces of elite movement and plasma strike each other. Their melee skills were one of the many things that the elites had impressed the hunters with.

Eventually the loyalist leader attempted the same downward strike he did early. This time their commander rolled the left and brought his sword through the chest of the loyalist. Plasma seared flesh as the elite screamed and stabbed their commander in the neck. His purple blood staining the armor with help from the enemy elite's fluids as their commander slumped over dead, sword deactivated and resting forever at his side.

The hunters did not react well to his death and began charging their assault cannons at the enemy elite. He dropped to one knee before facing them, energy sword still in hand and blood dripping out his chest. He lunged at the floating pyramid and stabbed it with his sword.

The elite screamed, "You shall not tarnish this sacred relic!"

Mekalo then saw a bright light pour from the top of the pyramid and vaporize the elite instantly. Before he could react he was thrown on the ground and shielded by his brother. A huge explosion erupted from the swirling pyramid, destroying the ceiling and blasting Mekalo into a wall across the room. He quickly got up and ran over to his brother. What he saw only brought a deep sadness within him.

His brother's beautiful blue armor was tainted orange with his blood, oozing out his exposed back where he had shielded Mekalo. His humorous and cheery demeanor replaced with nothing, his brother was dead.

A beam of light sprung from the pyramid and shot into the sky. Curving slightly it shot into the system's nearby star. The star shone brilliantly before exploding into several rings. Meanwhile, the light from the base of the pyramid branched off into the corner of the room and created a swirling portal of white light, tapering and swirling around the edges.

Mekalo did not even notice. All he could think about was his brother in front of him. _Okio Ursa Vako_, that was his name. He fondly remembered the times they shared with each other, the time they first fought alongside each other, the time they made their vow. They agreed after their service was no longer needed they would return to their home world, Te, and live in peace amongst themselves.

He looked up at the exploding star and could sense the heat about to destroy the planet. Quite frankly, he didn't care. He was at peace to join his bond brother, but after a moments thought he decided against the idea. Okio was never one to give up, and Mekalo could keep his memory alive by fighting in his honor.

He reached over to his brother and removed Okio's shield. He stared at it for a moment, seeing Okio's full name carved into the top of the shield. Early into their joining of the UNSC, Mekalo and his brother had taking a liking to the concept of dog tags from the marines, and decide to put their names on their shields. He tucked Okio's shield under his left arm and walked over to the portal.

The planet only a few moments away from being reduced to a molten rock, Mekalo stopped and looked back at his brother for the last time.

Whispering to himself, "Peace be with you Okio."

He turned and walked into the swirling portal as he felt the angry remains of the star blast over the planet. He did not know whether this portal was his salvation or damnation, but regardless Mekalo was fully prepared to accept either fate.


	2. A Run in with the Locals

Author's Note: Hello everyone. It has been a long time since I read the Inheritance Cycle books, so I apologize if some things are wrong (I did a brief skim of events to make it somewhat accurate)**.** I couldn't find the color of Galbatorix's soldiers online, but I have a feeling it was red.

There was absolutely nothing. Mekalo floated through an endless void and saw only black. Time stood still, and he did not know how long he was floating there. He could feel the presence of something close though, something familiar. After passing by more nothing, Mekalo saw his brother floating ahead. Okio's limbs were hanging below his body, his stomach the highest point Mekalo could see. Okio's visor turned sharply to face him, blood still covering his armor. A bright beam shot from the visor and engulfed Mekalo in a glowing white light, and then he felt a jolt of energy run through him.

Mekalo opened his 'eyes' and got up. He appeared to be in a mountain range of some kind. Immediately he ran a diagnostic of his current condition. His visor had been upgraded long ago to provide him with any information on his armor, physical being, and even provided outside measurements like temperature and air composition.

His armor was black, and near indestructible. It was heavily modified to protect the normally unarmored stomach and sides. Instead of being open, the stomach and back were protected by a thick, black chassis. His head was fully protected, and the armor around his neck rose up for additional protection. If he crouched into a combat stance, none of the Lekgolo would be visible to any outside observers. All his enemies could see was a behemoth of metal approaching them.

Down towards the ground were his massive legs and feet. With those he had many accounts of surprising his enemies that a being of his stature could move at such quick speeds.

His right hand, quite simply, was a massive assault cannon. The gun was extremely threatening, and capable of eliminating most threats in an instant. Three 'fingers' extended from the front sides of the cannon, and after much practice Mekalo was able to manipulate the metal appendages to a startling degree. He couldn't draw a straight line to save his life, but he could pick up objects or flatten the head of an attacker.

Down the left arm lay his three, thick fingers wrapped tightly around the handle of his shield. It was widely regarded as almost impossible to penetrate the shield, and Mekalo had nothing but supportive evidence for this. The thick, grey shield weighed more than two tons, and curved inwards toward the bottom, forming a sharper edge. While the edge couldn't cut paper, the force a hunter applied made it do a nice job slicing through anything organic. This made it an excellent weapon for blunt force and stabbing trauma alike, something he often sung about in his poetry. Mekalo was able to let everyone hear his beautiful works when he had a vocal processor installed in his armor to allow him to communicate to the humans he fought with.

He quickly read over the diagnostics.

"Initiating Full Suit Scan…."

"Armor integrity: 100%"

"Internal Scan: 100%"

"Power Supply: 98%"

"Assault Cannon Capacity: 93%"

"Medical systems: 100%"

"Vocal Processor intact"

"Communications Relay intact"

"Active Camouflage ready to be used"

His armor showed only minor damage, and body was working at full capacity. He had a special cloaking device built for him after the successes he had in his long career of war, and the scans revealed it was working fully. His armor had its own power system similar to an elite's, but he refused personal energy shields, reasoning they would not allow him to have fun in combat. This meant a majority of the power could be diverted to his active camouflage, and he could keep his huge frame cloaked for nearly two hours.

Mekalo looked and his left arm, and then entered a small panic.

_'Where is Okio's shield?' _He thought worriedly.

His fears were silenced when he looked down and saw it at his feet. He crouched down and picked it up as gently as a creature that large could. He tucked it safely under his left arm and surveyed the area.

He did not recognize where he was, and immediately began broadcasting all frequencies used by the UNSC and the Covenant. After two minutes with no response, he grew slightly worried. If they did not pick those signals up, there must have been a communications issue or he was stuck on an undiscovered planet. Neither sounded appealing.

The trees in the area proved life existed here, though he could sense no animals in the area. He decided to cautiously head to the east. Maybe he would find a civilization that could get him back to the UNSC with a signal or ship.

After two hours of walking, Mekalo sensed a settlement ahead. The terrain had changed from the mountainous area to very flat plains. Deciding to play it safe, he activated his camouflage and observed the city. Any sentients living there would have to be within 10 feet of him to notice the slight blur where he was.

As he got closer to the city, he was startled by several things. First, there were humans there, but they looked extremely primitive. Mekalo watched intently, surprised these humans were using swords and bows. He had not been taught a lot of history, but he knew the humans stopped using those weapons nearly a thousand years ago.

He remained cloaked and moved even closer to the city. These people could be insurrectionists, and even if they weren't his form did not scream "I come in peace" to anything with intelligence. He approached cautiously and noticed a road leading to the city. He decided to follow the road there, thankful that it was made of stone and hid his heavy footprints.

Mekalo doubt grew rapidly as he approached the city. The architecture was extremely primitive, and his assault cannon would have blasted through the walls with no issues. The humans he could observe through his visor wore clunky metallic armor, and did not even have a metal under suit. This technology made him inference that there was a low chance of these humans having any space worthy vessels. Though it was unheard of, it seemed the most likely explanation.

He spotted several humans in the distance. Dressed in armor with a red insignia on their chest plates, they seemed to be questioning an old man and a younger man. He approached closer slowly, and with his audio enhancers he was able to make out some of the conversation. He was glad they spoke English. At least he knew most of the language.

"State your business for approaching he city."

"We live in the city. Please, I was just gathering ingredients for my herbal shop." The old man pleaded with the leader of the troops.

"You two could very well be Varden spies. This matter would be cleared up easily if your son were to join the imperial army and swear loyalty to Galbatorix." The leader said with a sinister smile.

The old man seemed to be distraught by this. "Please sir! He's practically a boy. He doesn't need to see his life shortened by your war."

The leader's smile quickly vanished into a frown.

"Our war is your war. We need all the troops we can get, and I'm sure your son would be fine in the army. Take him" The other soldiers quickly grabbed the younger man.

The young man fought his conscription fiercely. He kicked and thrashed, only to be knocked unconscious moments later by the hilt of the leader's sword.

The old man got on his knees and pleaded, "Please don't take him!"

The leader only smiled and said, "We have what we need, and I'm sure no one will miss a petty old man." He pointed his sword at the man.

The leader turned saying, "I'll let you four have fu-" stopping mid-sentence as a whistle was heard from a distance away, it rapidly got louder until it a green light exploded behind the leader, knocking him several meters away. He slowly got up, breathing heavily. His fellow troops had been replaced with melted bones. The earth beneath blackened from the heat. The old man's son lay a few feet away, unharmed.

The leader promptly brought his sword in front of him. He and the old man scanned for what caused that destruction, only to see nothing.

The old man then witnessed the leader suddenly fly to the right. He flew into a tree and broke it on impact. This did nothing to slow his momentum, and he continued flying until gravity won out and pulled the body down.

A massive creature suddenly appeared before the old man. His eyes widened, and he felt fear grip him. The creature was taller than any urgal he had seen, and heavily armed with a massive shield on his arm, a copy of the shield tucked in the arm, and a swirling green gauntlet on the other. The man spoke slowly and scared.

"T-thank you f-for your help s-stranger."

The creatures head, or what the man thought was his head, turned towards him and he felt a sense of dread. A mechanical voice then came through the air, its emotionless tone surprising the man.

"I mean you no harm."

The old man slowly got onto his feet and stared at the armored titan.

"My name is Rothan." The man said quickly, clearly disturbed by the sight of the hunter.

"I am called Mekalo, and I am in need of information. Where are we?"

Mekalo noticed the man visibly shaken. He was unsure whether it was his size, the molten remains nearby, or the odd voice. He then noticed his cannon was still charged and ready. Mekalo rapidly deactivated the deadly device, and put his arm by his side. The man seemed to ease up slightly.

"We are near the city of Belatona."

Mekalo checked his vocal processors to make sure that English was indeed selected, and he clarified for Rothan,

"No, what planet is this?"

"Planet? What is a planet?"

Mekalo groaned internally. He had a better chance of getting home by trying to ask a grunt.

"Never mind. What were those soldiers doing?"

A sadness seemed to grow in the man's eyes.

"They were trying to get my son to join Galbatorix's army" he said solemnly.

Mekalo figured this was as good a chance as any to learn more about where he was.

"Who's army?"

Mekalo thought this man would be terrible at the game the marines like to play. What was it? Blackjack, Rummy, Go Fish? No, he remembered it was poker where they had to hide expressions. Rothan would have definitely failed at that game; his surprise was easy to see, even from the distance of Rothan's face and Mekalo's eyes.

"You've never heard of Galbatorix?"

Mekalo tried the emotions add-on to see if it would speed up communications.

"As you might guess, I am not from around here. Perhaps you could tell me the history of your land."

Neither Mekalo nor Rothan were expecting a deep southern accent in his speech. Rothan just stared at him for a moment.

"Alright, though we should do this in my shop. There's an area in the back you should be able to fit in. It's getting dark, and while I don't think anything but the king himself could threaten you, I do not want to take chances with my life or my son's."

Mekalo just nodded, fixed his voice, and replied,

"Lead the way; I can remain hidden until we get there."

Rothan nodded in turn, and went over to his son.

"Michael, wake up my boy." The young man remained unconscious.

Rothan frowned, but Mekalo simply moved the fingers on his assault cannon to pinch the boy's shirt, and gently tuck him under his left arm, on top of Okio's shield. He activated his camouflage, and Rothan's surprised expression returned. Mekalo figured he would have to get used to that.

"What sort of magic is this?" The man said with awe.

Mekalo sighed to himself again. These people believed in magic; what had he gotten himself into now?

"I'm still here, just go there and I shall follow."

Rothan paused for a moment, then turned and walked toward the city. They reached the gate within minutes, the sun setting rapidly over a small hill. The nearby guards didn't seem too concerned with Rothan by himself.

"It's getting late old man, get in the city quickly before nightfall, otherwise we can't guarantee your safety."

Mekalo fought the urge to liquefy the internal organs of the soldier for disrespecting Rothan like that. As the city's gate opened, he no longer had to worry about being seen because with the low light levels nobody would find him without running into him.

Rothan led Mekalo through the city's streets until they reached a small shop. Rothan went around the shop and there was a garage like area in the back. Various herbs and pots were collected on shelves.

"I don't think you could stand up completely in here, but you saved my son and me, and you're welcome to stay as long as you'd like. I'll tell you what I know, but it is a long story and I would like to wait till the morning.

Mekalo merely nodded again.

"Thank you Rothan."

With that Mekalo set the boy down. Rothan dragged him into the home, leaving Mekalo alone. He walked into a corner of the area and pulled a sheet down to hide from anyone that might sneak around in the back. He set Okio's and his shield down at his feet, and then sat still to think and meditate for the night.

_"My service will never be over at this rate" was_ Mekalo's last thought as he cleared his mind.


	3. A Challenger is Near

**AN: Hello everyone. I've decided to not have a schedule for this. If you are saddened by this then I apologize, but I do not wish to commit to writing. I'll upload when I can, but I have nothing saved. I write a chapter in a single session and upload it.**

Rays of light poured out from the city walls. Shining through the sheet that hid the combined Lekgolo from view, Mekalo was taken out of his meditation.

Rothan arrived soon after with Michael in tow. Rothan explained that he had told Michael about the last night's events, and all Michael seemed to do was share Rothan's initial surprised expression.

_"That expression must be genetic" _Our lone hunter thought to himself.

Rothan then spoke up,

"You wanted to hear our story?"

Mekalo didn't need to confirm his intentions; all evidence gathered so far suggested Rothan was at least self-aware.

Rothan pulled out a chair and sat down while Michael went back into the house. Mekalo got a chance to observe his temporary allies in a better light.

Michael looked young and strong. He had a tan that suggested he did a majority of his activities outside. His face expressed innocence that looked familiar to Mekalo, and both his eyes and hair were both brown.

Rothan looked like a leader. He looked aged with his graying hair, but he stood tall and strong. His jaw was strong, and he had intense brown eyes like his son. His beard would make Gandalf jealous, and Mekalo could see this man was wise. Mekalo also detected a unique energy signature emanating from him.

"It all started long ago…"

Rothan went into great detail about the riders, their fall, and Galbatorix's rise to power. He explained the workings of the world, showed Mekalo a map, and described all the races. Mekalo made sure to record everything Rothan mentioned. Most of it was boring, but certain things caught Mekalo's attention.

"You mentioned magic several times. What is it?" Mekalo's usual emotionless tone filled the back of the shop.

"Do your people not have magic where you're from?"

If Mekalo was human, he would be the one from the surprised expression this time.

"No, I come from… far away." There was a notice drop in the vocal processor's audio output.

"Well…" Rothan scratched his beard thoughtfully, "magic is an energy that everyone can manipulate"

"Some are stronger than others in this regard, but…" Rothan spent next hour explaining the ancient language and inner workings of magic.

Mekalo spoke up after,

"Your knowledge indicates you have used magic in the past"

"You're quite observant" Rothan replied with a smile. His voiced then became immensely quiet.

"Yes. I have used magic in the past, but it is unwise to show everyone. Magicians are regarded as dangerous."

Mekalo saw an opportunity to study this more,

"Could you demonstrate?"

Rothan seemed to look around. He held out his hand whispering, _"Brisingr."_

The strange energy Mekalo analyzed earlier flared into Rothan's hand into a small fire ball. The energy soon dissipated instead of returning to Rothan's body.

"You have to be careful, magic takes energy from the body. Use too much, and you die." Rothan said solemnly. His mood soon peaked up though.

"Now my friend, I have told you about our land. What will you do from here?"

Mekalo thought for a moment. The Varden seemed like the best option. Galbatorix reminded him too much like the prophets, a sour thought indeed. He didn't know when or if he would get home, so he could at least make his mark here.

"I believe I have decided to join the Varden."

Rothan looked relieved.

"A wise choice, I wish you well."

"You would not join me?"

"What use does the Varden have with an old lad like myself?"

Mekalo thought for a moment on this.

"You said magic is energy, can it be used to heal?"

"Indeed it can be used for that."

"Rothan, you may not know me, but I am well versed in the ways of war. I can bet my life on this statement, there are never too many medics on a field during war."

Rothan seemed to think for a minute.

"You have convinced me I could make a difference, and I shall talk with Michael. If he agrees, then I will join you on your way there."

Mekalo and Rothan then began their plan. During the night, Mekalo would sneak out of the city and wait in a nearby grove, finding an odd assortment of things to eat. If Rothan and his son did not show up by noon, Mekalo would leave for the Varden. Rothan had said to just follow the Jiet River, and that he would find the Varden there.

Sure enough, at noon Mekalo could spot two figures in the distance. He saw Rothan and Michael dressed in light clothing, each carrying a pack. During their greeting Mekalo had messed with his vocal processor again, and now it sounded like a pokedex.

"Greetings, I'm glad you decided to join me."

"You're a persuasive one Mekalo, I'll give you that." Rothan replied with his kind smile. Michael just stood surprised at his voice. Mekalo then heard Michael's voice for the first time,

"Thank you for saving me and father back there."

"Think nothing of it. I was just doing my job."

On that note they decided to head due south. Rothan appeared both nervous and excited.

"I wonder what we will find on our way there!"

Mekalo merely observed his surroundings. They were unimpressive compared to his homeworld, just a river and plains around. He passed time by watching his recordings to learn some of the ancient language Rothan had showed him. He was growing bored. They had only been walking two days, but Mekalo was eager to just kill something. His request was finally granted on the third day.

Before them, in the distance, there was a chaotic battle being waged. The Imperial troops were fighting Varden troops. Mekalo could see a red dragon and its rider fighting another rider on a blue dragon.

_"That must be Murtagh and thorn fighting Eragon and Sapphira."_

The sight of plains of fire was only lightly unusual to Mekalo. He had survived far more dangerous missions. Rothan and Michael were far more surprised with the scenery.

Further down the river was an imperial ship that was firing at imperial troops.

_"The must be allies of the Varden." _Mekalo did not have time to overthink these things. He wanted to vaporize something.

He threw down Okio's shield, safely moved some rocks to cover it, and spoke to his comrades.

"I'm going to join the fight." And with that, Mekalo was off at a frightening speed to spread fear and destruction.

**"Assault Cannon Initialized…"**

All the imperial troops could do was scream as green magic was flying into their ranks from down the river. They turned to a creature crouching down with a massive shield covering its body raining death onto them. Soldiers tried to attack the monster only find it much larger than they thought, and to soon be crushed by the shield or vaporized by his green beams of death.

_"These humans fight worse than grunts." _

Mekalo sighed inside. He couldn't even make a poem out of this; nobody would be interested in hearing,

"They all screamed and died

They were all vaporized."

Mekalo simply spread the fear through their lines the best he could. Varden soldiers eyed with caution. Imperial troops soiled their pants in his presence, the last thing they heard before dying was their bones melting or being crushed, then a low humming coming from the beast.

Mekalo was humming one of his favorite poems to get his mind of this fight. The soldiers weren't putting up much of a fight. He figured he could end it quicker by setting his assault cannon to fire a continuous beam. After a minute he was starting to get annoyed, it was hard to think when the soldiers were screaming so much. Suddenly he sensed two powerful magic presences, and felt their energy being sent towards him.

He turned and saw a large fireball being sent his way by two men that appeared to be twins. Their energy signature was similar to Rothan's, yet unique at the same time. He spotted a man behind one of the twins with a hammer in his hand.

The fireball bounced harmlessly off his shield, and both twins died at that moment. One crushed by a hammer, and the other incinerated into ash. Sensing something big to his left, Mekalo turned to see a Thorn flying towards him rapidly.

Murtagh was startled by the recent events. He had finished binding Eragon and Sapphira with magic, when he saw a large creature was destroying a majority of their army with apparent ease. He sent a message through his mental link.

_"Thorn, what is that thing?"_

_"I know not, but his mind is more alien to me than anything I have ever felt. It is as though his mind is there, and at the same time not there."_

_"We need to stop it from attacking the troops."_

Thorn rumbled in response, and took off to face the new power at play. Murtagh smiled,

"_It doesn't appear to notice us."_

Suddenly, the creature's metallic head snapped toward their direction. Thorn barreled towards it head on, breathing fire and attempting to slam into it. Instead Thorn was flipped upside down much to everyone's surprise, Murtagh jumping off to avoid being crushed by his dragon.

Mekalo saw the dragon and observed for a second. The rider had a powerful energy signature, and he saw energy being fed into the rider through pouches on the dragon's. Massive energy readings were inside. The dragon then charged at him from the sky spewing fire, ignoring the fact he was burning many of his own troops. Just before the dragon was on him, Mekalo slammed his shield into the belly of the dragon, legs bending only slightly, before throwing him onto the ground.

_"Dragons must be light for their size in order to fly like they do." _Mekalo had learned more than he ever thought he would the past week, that much was certain.

The rider stood up, red sword out. The dragon took slightly longer to get up, only to witness Murtagh being hit with the green gel. The impact nearly broke the wards, much to Murtagh's shock, and forced him to release Eragon and Sapphira. Murtagh saw this and immediately sent a command to Thorn and drew all the power he could from the Eldunari,

_"Thorn! We have to leave now! That one attack nearly broke my wards!"_

Mekalo witnessed the dragon rider and dragon attempt to retreat.

"What are you?"

Was that boy speaking to him? It didn't really matter; Mekalo was not one to discriminate from anyone that desired death. He charged his assault cannon, and spoke in an artificially ominous tone,

"I am the physical embodiment of death…" Murtagh's eyes held a sense of fear as green beams were sent his way.

Incendiary gel was being blocked only by magic, with Murtagh wincing at every impact. Finally, the wards broke as they took flight, just in time for Thorn to roar in pain as his right hind leg cleanly dissolved to a stump.

As they fled, the majority of the army tried to flee as well. They were all cut down by swords, arrows, magic, and a hunter's shield. The blue dragon then landed next to Mekalo, eyeing him suspiciously. The rider attempted to call something out, but Mekalo was already walking away. He didn't really care what the boy had to say, it probably wasn't important. He saw Rothan and Michael a ways away, tending to the wounded. Rothan saw him and smiled warmly,

"Mekalo! It is good to see you are alright."

"You as well, Rothan."

Their greeting was cut short by Eragon moving in front of the hunter, sword point at his chest plate. Mekalo would have suppressed the urge to laugh if he was physically capable of doing the act.

"Can I help you child?" Mekalo's emotionless tone seemed to anger Eragon, though there was a level of fear in his eyes.

"Who, and what, are you?"

Rothan came into the conversation at that time.

"Eragon Shadeslayer!" Rothan bowed deeply.

"My large friend here convinced me and my son to join the Varden after he saved our lives."

Eragon seemed to think it over. He turned to Rothan, sheathing the sword,

"We you allow me to read your mind?"

"It would be an honor, Shadeslayer."

Eragon touched his hand to Rothan's head. Mekalo saw energy flowing between them. Their eyes then opened with Eragon saying,

"I am convinced you and your son mean the Varden no harm, but I do not know about him." He gestured to the armored colossus.

Night was falling quickly, and quite the crowd was gathering to see their new visitor. Mekalo was somewhat used to these reactions, though not usually from primitive humans, green creatures he assumed to be urgals, and a single female elf from what he spotted. He decided to speak up for himself

"I do not believe you could read my mind even if we both tried."

Mekalo had no intentions of letting Eragon see his history, but he was confident he could hide it. Hunters were renowned for being unable to be taken over by the flood, and he doubted the mind reading was any different.

Eragon visibly frowned, and closed his eyes. Mekalo felt like something was trying to get into his head, but it was having trouble, like it was lost. The individual Lekgolo blocked any attempts subconsciously, and he didn't even have to waste energy with a mental barrier. Eragon opened his eyes, and his frown remained.

"I can't even find your mind."

Mekalo was not surprised by this, and turned to go get Okio's shield. Eragon shouted at him,

"Where are you going!?"

Mekalo replied without turning around.

"To get my shield."

With that, he went to his hiding place for the shield. A large group following him, one being a dragon, he quickly moved the large rocks and picked up Okio's shield. Tucking it under his arm, he turned to walk back to the camp, the group of people dispersing until only Eragon, Sapphira, and the elf were left. Eragon was the first to annoy Mekalo,

"Why do you have two shield?"

"Why do you have pointed ears?" The boy was started to annoy Mekalo.

Eragon looked like he was going to start a fight, but the elf stopped him and spoke to Mekalo,

"We shall discuss your joining of the Varden tomorrow."

Mekalo silently walked to the edge of the Varden camp. He planted both shield into the ground, and prepared for another night of meditation. Whether the Varden accepted him or not didn't matter, he would fight Galbatorix and death itself.


	4. Adapting to the Unknown

The sun peaked over a hill nearby. Bringing rays of light over the Varden's camp and scorched areas of earth where former imperial soldiers lay. A certain hunter could be seen roaming the edges of camp.

Mekalo had been roaming the edges of the camp for a few hours now. He really didn't need to sleep much because the Lekgolo had a frightening efficiency when it came to energy production. Despite their large size, hunters required a minimal amount of food and sleep. Mekalo had been scanning the camp for weak points and strong points, and he was most displeased.

The soldiers that kept watch created a large blind spot, unknowingly of course. Mekalo could have snuck up even without his active camouflage and eliminated them. The tents themselves weren't set up well either. They were erected sporadically and with no discipline. With so much disorganization going on Mekalo had no doubts in his mind they would be ruined by a well-trained infiltration squad. Luckily for the Alagaesians the UNSC and Covenant had no presence there, so at least those threats were reduced.

Mekalo had other problems to worry about though. Ultimately he had no idea when or if he was going to return to his home, but since he could not change that he decided to concentrate on more urgent matters.

For one, how was he going to explain what he was? It was shocking enough the UNSC didn't exist with these humans, and now he would have to explain that, the covenant, and the war between them? He chose to remain quiet about the issue. Until he could trust these people more he would cover his origins and try to gain their trust.

He also had other issues if he was going to remain here for a long period of time. His armor and the shields would likely remain untouched by any weapons this world could throw at him, but he needed a way to replicate the incendiary gel. He quickly checked on his supplies via a mental signal through his armor's neural transmitter.

**"…Assault Cannon Capacity: 62%"**

He might have to start using the cannon sparingly. Unfortunately for them, his enemies would only be spared until a large shield crushed their frail bodies.

Not long after the sunrise, a young soldier ran up to Mekalo. The man seemed to tremble before the hunter, and weakly said,

"Lady Nasuada wishes to speak with you."

Mekalo didn't even have time to thank the young man before he run off faster than Naruto chasing a bowl of ramen. He wasn't sure whether to be offended or pleased his form intimidated the man, but regardless he trucked along towards Nasuada's tent, or what he guessed was hers. The messenger ran off too fast for Mekalo to ask for directions, but he assumed the largest tent with the 6 guards would be Nasuada's.

The guards quickly took note of Mekalo walking up to their leader's tent. One shouted,

"Wait here." A dwarf said with a slight nervousness, but quite weak by our hunter's standards.

He chose to abide by their _"request"_ and wait. He didn't any trouble with potential allies… yet. The dwarf went into Nasuada's tent. Mekalo choose to pass time by messing with the guards. He twitched the spikes on his back ever so slightly. Every time they moved, the guards would grip their weapons so tight their knuckles turned white, or a light green in the urgal's case.

Mekalo did not wait long. The dwarf soon returned and admitted him into the tent. Mekalo had to enter the tent with grace that would rival a Spartan. The sight was amusing and pitiful for many watching, but of course none would say that to the titan's face.

Mekalo entered the tent and saw the elf from last night and a woman he assumed was Nasuada. He analyzed her appearance, though they could only see a slight twitching of his spikes. Her physical form did not interest him, but he was interested in the aura she projected. It was an aura of leadership that he had seen only a few times, a notable one being the Arbiter. The two looked him over as well. Mekalo could not be sure, but he was certain the elf was the guard for Nasuada in here. It was unlikely a leader like her would be defenseless against an unknown like himself. He classified the elf as a minimal threat, however. Nasuada began the pleasantries much to Mekalo's chagrin.

"I am Nasuada, and this is Arya."

The elf's energy signature was very interesting to him. He made a mental note to research magic more. Mekalo turned on his speaker, and his emotionless tone hid his annoyance.

"I am known as Mekalo."

Nasuada seemed to hesitate, and asked

"Just what are you? I have never seen something like you before?"

"I am known as a Mgalekgolo, but your kind refers to us as hunters."

"Where did your people come from?"

"Te."

Nasuada frowned, and seemed to drop the topic of his past, much to Mekalo's gratitude. He was sure she would bring it up later, but finally, they could get down to business. Patience was not one of Mekalo's strong points. He decided to sit down at that moment; he didn't want to stab the tent with his spines, and crouching was getting annoying. Nasuada seemed to take notice, as did everyone when they heard the thump made by 7 tons of armored death.

"I'm sorry. As I'm sure you know your size is a bit… unusual."

Mekalo was no stranger to this.

"I am used to it."

Nasuada then began speaking. He was unsure if she wanted him or not, but he figured they would like his help eventually.

"I have heard of your feats in battle yesterday, and for that you have my thanks. Galbatorix's army, Murtagh, and Thorn could of done innumerable damage to the Varden had you not intervened. Normally I would not accept a complete stranger to the Varden, but we are in dire need. Eragon informed me your mind could not be read. That makes you both a great threat and ally at the same time. I have decided to allow to join, if you so choose. You would of course remain watched as I'm sure you understand. I only ask you tell us your capabilities."

Mekalo was slightly taken aback. That was way too easy; he didn't even have to ask. The right choice was easy.

"I accept."

Nasuada seemed to relax more. The elf, now identified as Arya, remained with the same stoic expression. Mekalo quickly went and checked off his combat capabilities to them,

"I can move several tons, my armor and shield are virtually indestructible, I can sense energy and other beings from a fair distance, my right arm is an assault cannon that can fire incendiary gel that completely vaporizes a target from up to…"

Mekalo counted off his abilities for the next 15 minutes, leaving a stunned Nasuada. Even the elf managed to show surprise, though not at Rothan's level. There was a short silence, when Nasuada spoke,

"If I get this correct, you are the most powerful single being on our side. Though I would like to see this active camouflage you speak of."

Mekalo activated the camouflage and both Nasuada and Arya were taken back by it. They could only see the faintest of blurs where the massive hunter was sitting. He deactivated it and returned to his normal appearance. Nasuada wrapped up the meeting,

"It is my honor to accept you into the Varden Mekalo. Arya will show you around camp."

Mekalo, as gracefully as a hunter could, exited the tent and followed Arya around camp. The stares were obnoxious, but he put up with them when he saw Arya seemed to be glad the stares weren't on her for once.

She showed him all the sights around the camp, which meant only basic necessities like the kitchen and armory, not like he was going to need either soon. He ate minerals that were often found within strange objects like forerunner artifacts. She showed the training area which had taken his interest the most so far.

Soldiers were sparring each other, and new members were being instructed on the basics of swordsmanship and archery. Arya noticed his attention there,

"What do you think of them?"

Mekalo turned his head down to meet her. He decided to reply truthfully,

"They are undisciplined, have little skill, and would not survive long like this."

Arya was about to speak up when Mekalo spoke again

"But they have potential and determination."

"I agree."

They watched the men train for a few minutes. Arya spoke to him again

"Were you a soldier before?"

"Yes. I fought in a 30 year long war bred out of lies."

Arya was very much intrigued by this.

"Did this take place on Te?"

Mekalo had to tread carefully around this

"Yes and no. Regardless, it happened far, far away from here."

Arya seemed to take the hint and returned to her duties a minute later. Mekalo decided to visit Rothan. He tracked the energy signal and found him in the Varden's infirmary. Rothan noticed Mekalo and smiled to him,

"Mekalo! I was accepted Into the Du Vrangr Gata today. I hope you were admitted to the Varden?"

"Yes. Nasuada was glad to have me join them."

Rothan gave a hearty laugh,

"I have no doubts with you helping Galbatorix himself will feel a hit to his power."

"Your optimism is infinite Rothan."

Rothan laughed again while they exchanged goodbyes. Mekalo saw Michael training with a sword outside. The boy was determined to learn, but his form was almost as bad as his decision making. Mekalo made another mental note to teach Michael how to survive in battle.

He saw the day was coming to a close, so he went off to where he left his shields. He was forced to not activate his assault cannon when he saw people near Okio's shield. They were intelligent enough to leave the area when Mekalo arrived. He moved the shields farther away from the camp, planted them in the ground, and rested on them. After a few minutes, Sapphira landed nearby. Eragon hopped off and walked near Mekalo.

"Nasuada said she wanted to speak with you in the morning."

Mekalo just nodded once. Eragon seemed hesitant in his next declaration,

"I'm sorry for how I acted yesterday, you saved both our lives."

Mekalo did not react to this. He was a soldier just doing his job, but if it got the kid away from him he would play along.

"Someone put you up to saying that?"

Eragon glanced up at Sapphira

"Something like that."

Mekalo laughed internally.

"I'm just a soldier doing my duty. You fought with great courage out there. and you…" he turned to the blue dragon.

"Are absolutely beautiful in the way you bring death."

Sapphira let out puffs of smoke in amusement, and gave a dragonly grin. Eragon smiled and spoke,

"She's… flattered by your compliment."

Mekalo managed to get his speaker to laugh in a robotic fashion

"That's something that never changes no matter where you are."

Eragon looked as clueless as ever,

"What doesn't change?"

Mekalo did not respond for several seconds. How could this boy be relied on by the Varden so much?

"Females."

Was all Eragon and Sapphira heard. Eragon laughed while Sapphira let out more puffs of smoke. Mekalo decided to ask Eragon for help, something he didn't think he would ever do.

"Eragon, could you teach me to communicate mentally?"

"I might be able to spare some time for that. We'll see tomorrow."

"Alright, you two have a good night."

Eragon went off to his tent while Sapphira stayed there. He had a brief conversation with the dragon.

"Is he always this clueless?"

Sapphira let out a puff of smoke in laughter

"I know you so many rest their hopes on you two, but I have faith. More so in you, but faith nonetheless."

Sapphira gave a smile to the hunter.

"Perhaps when I can communicate with you better I can tell you my story, and how I know what this is like. I promise you though, I will help watch over him".

Sapphira moved her head closer to the hunter. He easily reached up and rubbed to her snout. She nodded, which Mekalo interpreted as "thank you", and flew off to sleep.

Mekalo decided it was time to rest as well, and waited for the next chapter in his life to be written.


	5. Purpose

**AN: Hello. School has been demanding, so I haven't been writing. I got a break today, so here is a chapter for your amusement.**

A week had passed, and Mekalo was feeling multiple varieties of boredom. Given that he needed little sleep, Nasuada had assigned him sentry duty during the night. Night time was, well, boring as hell. Nothing attacked the camp. Mekalo had nothing to crush for his amusement, and had been doing strange things to pass time like communicate with others.

He spent his spare time speaking with Rothan, Michael, and Angela. Our armored friend had taken a liking to the witch, and was curious as to what she was. She looked human, that much was obvious, but her energy signature was rather unique, differing from the elves and humans. Mekalo and Angela found one another amusing, and they had many lengthy discussions on a variety of topics ranging from water temperature to the force necessary to crush an urgal's skull.

He also spent time assisting Rothan and Michael. He gave Michael tips on close quarter combat, and the young man had been showing great improvements in short time. He also assisted Rothan in better ways on healing.

~~~Flashback~~~

_"How exactly do you heal using the magic?"_

_Rothan paused to think, hand on chin,_

_"Well… It seems after saying the words the body's natural healing process is sped up."_

_Mekalo observed the process being performed. It was extremely wasteful in his eyes. Rothan's energy flared into wounds, and the cells greedily absorbed the energy to mend together. It took a while to get the words right, but Rothan took Mekalo's suggestion to send a signal through the nervous system instead. Mekalo knew more about the human body than Rothan, but eventually it succeeded. The healing process was far less energy demanding for the caster at the cost of the injured individual needing some energy to replace the cell's structure, which came easily from food._

_~~~End~~~_

The new healing had certainly gained him favor with the Varden's magicians. Nasuada gradually gave him more duties to take on. Soon he improved the Varden's security, training, healing, cooking, and organization. He even got them to make tempered carbon steel in a relatively easy process.

This, of course, left him little time to himself. This was fine for the moment given how bored he was becoming. He only had 2 lessons with Eragon on mental communication before Eragon had to go rescue his cousin's brother or something. He was almost able to reach seamless communication on the second day, but he could only do strong feelings and images at his current level.

Today he sensed Sapphira approaching. Eragon was not on her. Mekalo sensed two others on the blue dragoness. Who they were was of little concern to him; what happened to the boy? Sapphira gracefully flew down new the edge of the camp, making small imprints in the grass. A small crowd was beginning to gather.

Mekalo walked up to Sapphira with Arya running from the other side of camp to get there. The crowded quickly parted before the hunter. Even after he had done so much for them, they had fresh images in their minds of him calmly destroying a large part of Galbatorix's army single-handedly, not limited to a dragon itself.

Arya was questioning Eragon's cousin as he got off with a human female. The dragon looked concerned. He tried to send a mental projection of the human question mark to her. Sapphira looked at him and began sending images of what happened at Helgrind, and how Eragon had stayed behind. He felt her concern for him, and what he deciphered as fear. She then sent an image that he translated to him going to find Eragon. He attempted to assure her he would go after the rider. Mekalo wasn't exactly becoming anyone's bond mate, but he had grown to care for individuals like Rothan and Eragon.

He quickly announced he would search for Eragon. That soon resulted in Arya trying to shoot that idea down, saying she would search for him herself. He left anyway, much to Nasuada's displeasure. Mekalo quickly left camp after grabbing his shield while Arya was busy packing things. He was not worried that he was getting ahead; elves were fast on their feet. He followed the road Sapphira had given him images of, and went off on his search.

He stuck to the trees as he walked. Despite his large size, Mekalo had much higher stamina than a normal human. His size also gave him a large stride. He moved rapidly because every single stride he took would have taken normal men 3-4 steps. It became late in the day when he finally sensed the elf approaching.

Mekalo activated his camouflage and let her pass. He could shadow her, and eventually Eragon if she found him. He moved for a while until he came upon an area called Eastcroft. He founded Arya being harassed by some farmers there. Eragon was there to chase them off, however.

This was good. He could follow them both from here, and follow is exactly what he did. They stayed in a tavern during the night. What they did there Mekalo had no idea of; he was content to meditate while waiting.

During the dead of night he sensed them both moving out of the town. Quickly, and surprising, quietly, Mekalo followed the two elves as they went down the road. He stayed far enough behind that even their super human hearing would not notice his heavy steps. He didn't even need to turn on his active camouflage; his black armor rendered him nearly invisible to any sight-seers watching the trees by the road.

His boredom could finally be quenched after a short time. Eragon and Arya had managed to find a bunch of imperial soldiers, and from what broken conversations he could pick up, they were going to fight soon. Not one moment later, steel began clashing together.

Mekalo was enjoying the sight of blood spilling; that always put him in a good mood. He watched Arya expertly dodge and stab, and Eragon breaking his knuckles by choosing to punch a chest plate. Mekalo actually face palmed at that one.

_"This kid's definitely dumber than some of the grunts I've worked with."_

In tending to his wounded hand, Eragon failed to notice a soldier about to stab him in the back. Arya was too busy holding off the others to help. Eragon turned around, eyes widening. Just before the sword pierced his stomach, the soldier was hit by a whistling green ball of energy and sent in a different direction. Mekalo quickly eliminated the rest of the soldiers.

The sight wasn't pretty. Mekalo had been using less gel to conserve ammo. Instead of a neat pile of molten bones, liquefied organs, and a ghostly echoing of recent screams, soldiers were sprawled around the area missing limbs, torsos, and heads. Blood was quickly covering the road; Mekalo gave a hearty laugh at the carnage, earning him a glare from Arya.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was delivering cookies." Mekalo kept an energetic tone, making Arya narrow her eyes further and Eragon stifle a laugh.

Arya seemed to take the hint that Mekalo would not change his antics, and refocused her priorities.

"Let's rest for the night, and head to the Varden tomorrow." She began rubbing her temple.

The odd trio went to a clearing off the road and began to set up camp. Arya and Eragon rested on the ground and spoke. They huddled in their cloaks, as a fire might alert the empire of their presence. Mekalo heard them talking and figured he would give them some privacy. He meditated farther away from the future-lovers.

He was unsure whether they trusted him or not, but he didn't particularly care. He was given a mission to protect Eragon, and he would complete it. Given he was still alive, he had never failed a mission before, and no backwater planet with ancient technology was going to harm a person he was assigned to protect. Of course this always brought up questions he would ask himself.

_"Why do I fight?"_

_"Why do I kill?"_

As a young Mgalekgolo, these questions used to bother him. He would be unsure of the answer, and doubt himself. He knew now though, he knew he fought for the protection of everything he stood for.

_"I fight to protect what is important."_

These thoughts he had always managed to branch off more. What was important? He didn't bother answering as he cleared his mind. Sometimes you have to accept things are not in your control. This of course led him to experience grief over his brother's death.

_"Dammit Okio, why did you have to die on me."_

The feeling was bitter, like an effective medicine or a leather couch. His brother sacrificed himself for his beliefs, Mekalo. Okio had protected what was important to him. Mekalo felt a new sense of warmth and purpose. He would follow in Okio's footsteps; protecting what was important to them both and perhaps inspiring others after he died, just as Okio did to himself. Mekalo calmly drifted off to his mindscape, eager to take whatever the next day could throw at him.

Mekalo rose early unto the dawn. Arya and Eragon were sleeping peacefully on the soft grass, though he knew they both suffered as much inner turmoil as he did. He took up sentry duty while he waited for them to become conscious.

Eventually they both got up as the sun was rising in the sky. They quickly packed their things, and began moving towards the Varden. Eragon was quick to strike up a conversation with the armored giant.

"So… how long have you been fighting?"

Mekalo went over his options. He could tell some things of his history, but not certain details like they flew in space or killed billons of humans.

"It's been 30 years now."

Eragon seemed surprised. Arya was less surprised given she had been fighting for longer, but still.

"What were you fighting for?"

Mekalo quickly took a darker tone.

"The war was based on lies in an attempt to conserve power."

"Is it over?"

"Yes… they are dead now. We officially won, but there's still fighting going on."

Both seemed to take an interest in his past, something that definitely made him uncomfortable. Arya asked the next question, curiosity flowing from her emerald eyes,

"What will you do when the fighting stops?"

Mekalo paused for a moment as he walked and they kept a light jog.

"When my service is complete I want to return to my home, Te, and be at peace there. It was what my brother and I wanted to do."

"Your brother… what happened to him? If you don't mind talking about it."

Mekalo considered it. Perhaps they could understand him better if he shared some more of his life details. It couldn't hurt to try.

"My brother died protecting me, not long before I joined the Varden. He meant so much to me. I wanted to die with him, but I have chosen to carry his legacy onwards. He inspired me in his death, and perhaps I can achieve that as well with mine."

Sharing bits of his life definitely got a reaction out of all three of them. They both sensed he didn't want to speak further about himself, so they began to tell their life stories. Eragon told Mekalo how he went form a farm boy to a dragon rider, how he found his way to the Varden. Arya explained how she became the elven ambassador for the Varden, and joined their cause.

The trio continued their trek for another hour after the last conversation took place. They all felt slightly more familiar with each other. They felt even better when they saw the Varden's encampment in the distance.

Arriving mid-day, the Varden soon welcomed them back, Roran and Katrina extremely thankful to Eragon, Nasuada thankful to Mekalo and Arya, and Sapphira sending emotions of happiness to the hunter at being reunited with her rider.

Mekalo saw the hope all the soldiers had, and he knew. He knew he could make a difference here, and inspire others. He knew that even if he died, these people would take it in stride and continue the cause, just as he had.


	6. Molten Gel and Blunt-Force Trauma

Oh how Mekalo wished these primitives had cryogenic chambers. Not that that would have done much good. The Covenant never had those, and the UNSC never had any his size. No, Mekalo wanted a cryo chamber because he was getting bored again.

After 30 years of fighting nonstop, waiting around in a camp was the least eventful thing he had done in a long time. Still, it was no excuse to get himself killed for being sloppy. He trained frequently, and was making great progress in other things.

He had been helping Michael train the past weeks. The young man had been growing rapidly in combat prowess, and soon he had bested the best human trainers the Varden could offer. He would never be on the same level as the elves, or at least physically, but he could potentially have more skill in just a few years.

Speaking of his pointed-eared friends, Mekalo had made great progress with spreading his consciousness. He could probably talk to Sapphira now, though she did not have any moment to try. Eragon had quickly learned just as much from Mekalo as Mekalo did from him. Eragon noticed how he felt more aware after Mekalo explained how the Mgalekgolo sensed things.

Mekalo made a great study into the magical energy some humans and all elves had. The energy seemed to come straight from their bodies, but it was interesting how their bodies could produce so much energy passively. From what he could tell, they seemed to be born with this ability, or at least born with a set genetic maximum to limit their energy capacity.

He had few conversations with Nasuada, she seemed to be busy a lot, lucky her. Mekalo had made it clear he wanted to work by himself. It was not because of his anti-social or questionably sociopathic behavior, but rather the opposite. He did not want allies dying while he was laying waste to an enemy.

On the note of laying waste, or by Mekalo's preference, launching the equivalent energy of a megaton thermo-nuclear warhead from his assault cannon, he had been taking with Angela frequently to find a replacement for the incendiary gel. She agreed if he would answer her questions. He agreed to at a later date.

She was intrigued by the composition, and after much trial and error, some of which resulted in trees on fire and scorch marks on his armor, they had managed to produce a satisfactory replacement. The new gel wasn't quite as good, but it could still melt an organic body with frightening ease. Though apparently there was a problem she wanted to speak to him about today.

"What is wrong?"

Angela just looked over the large canvas they had been writing the project on.

"The mixture is similar to your old one, but the components are rather… violent when mixed."

"Isn't that the point?"

Mekalo could not see where this was going, the mixture was supposed to be violent, specifically on the epidermis of an enemy target. Angela seemed frustrated,

"Yes, but your old mix seemed to only react when you wanted it to. I don't know how whoever made this managed to mix them so easily, but you need to put the ingredients in separately, and mix them at the time of firing."

Mekalo mused over this; modifying his gun was not something that was foreign to him. He soon went to work, switching up components as Angela watched with fascination. She muttered quietly under her breath, his speakers barely picked it up,

"No way he's not compensating with a weapon that large."

Mekalo just mentally shrugged; few understood the hunter's desire for powerful weaponry.

Soon, he had modified the gun to work with his new ammo. He gingerly placed the exact amount of mixture in. He was fortunate enough to have a calculator in the suit for him to work with. The new assault cannon still needed to be field tested, but after witnessing the results on plate armor that he had 'acquired', he was more than satisfied. Angela soon took him away from his fun though.

"I believe Roran and Katrina are being married within the hour. Eragon requested we both go."

"Surely that many important people in one area is cause for alarm?"

"Probably, but considering you could take on an entire urgal village and win, we'll be fine."

Mekalo said nothing as he followed her to the wedding area. It started a few minutes later. Mekalo understood the concept of marriage easy enough; it was like bond mates and their relationship. He tuned out of whatever was being said until he heard a cry of war. Scanning around, a group of roughly 300 soldiers appeared out of nowhere and were being led by Murtagh and thorn, who had regained his leg.

Mekalo cursed for not having his shield with him, he ran as fast as the equivalent weight of an African Bush Elephant could. He reached his shield as the Varden began rushing out to fight. He soon joined the battle; eager to fire at clumped up organics.

The Varden moral was being shaken. The imperial men would not die without losing their head. They laughed maniacally while they crawled with grotesque injuries to cause further confusion. Mekalo personally enjoyed it. He didn't mind having to separate a living being from its central nervous system, or if he was feeling bored, just completely disintegrate them.

The men soon stopped laughing when they fought him. It was not because they betrayed their oath to Galbatorix, but rather the fact that it's hard to laugh when your vocal chords happen to be a hundred feet from your brain, crushed completely, or turned to liquid and pouring out what remains of your larynx.

He momentarily looked over to check on Eragon and Sapphira. Murtagh was kicking his ass: literally, physically, and metaphorically. He sent out a mental shout to Eragon

_"I'll handle the dragon if you can bring him down. You could refocus your efforts on Murtagh with Sapphira assisting."_

Eragon silently agreed as he drove them closer to Mekalo. Mekalo fired pot shots as they flew closer, missed shots inciting sizzles from now-deceased imperial soldiers and successful shots bringing forth a feeling of rage from Murtagh. Stupid wards prevented incineration.

Somehow (Mekalo guessed with the help of the newly-arrived elves) Eragon got Murtagh off of Thorn. The dragon immediately noticed him, and turned to guard the replaced leg that melted off in their previous encounter. In turn, Mekalo crouched down, shield in front, assault cannon charged, and spikes twitching to the slightest movement made by Thorn.

Mekalo decided to have some fun, and tried having a mental conversation with Thorn. Mekalo voice mentally was not robotic, and took on more traits he had. It was deep, lined with steel, and powerful.

_"Now no one can interrupt our fun."_

_"So you can speak with your mind… my master has much to offer if you would join us."_

_"You can tell your 'master' to bite my shiny metal ass."_

Thorn roared and charged at Mekalo. Mekalo fired off a burst with his cannon a head level for Thorn. In an attempt to save his head, Thorn lost the tissue at the end of his right wing. The red dragon winced at the attack, and again as he was smacked in the head.

Mekalo charged at Thorn, and hit his face with the blunt part of the shield. Thorn felt like Shruikan had collided head on. He was seeing spots in his vision. Mekalo dropped his shield and began grappling with the dragon. This was what he was waiting for, a chance to fight close up with a strong opponent!

Unfortunately for Thorn, Mekalo had fought various opponents and possessed 30 years of battle-hardened experience. Thorn also had no noticeable wards; it seemed Murtagh was confident he would not leave Thorn's back. That and the wards have to be quite strong to withstand the force exerted by a battle-hungry hunter.

Mekalo grabbed Thorn at the base of the neck and swung him over his shoulder, making a large thud in the ground. Thorn attempted to move when he felt a heavy foot placed on his throat. He could only stare at the frightening being before him. Black as night, armor soaked in blood, and none its own. Thorn attempted to beg as Mekalo's assault cannon was priming. Luckily for the dragon, it was Arya who saved him.

"Mekalo! Don't kill him!"

Mekalo looked over to see what had transpired while he dueled with Thorn. Murtagh and Eragon looked to be unconscious. Eragon was being helped by an elf while the others were binding Murtagh.

Mekalo was apathetic toward sparing Thorn; he lasted long enough against an experienced Mgalekgolo, and showed himself to be given a chance at being a worthy opponent. Besides, Thorn couldn't fly, and if he tried to escape Mekalo would learn a lot about internal dragon anatomy.

Mekalo stopped the priming of his death ray, and removed his foot from Thorn's throat. Before Thorn could get up Mekalo grabbed his neck, positioned the dragon face to face, and mentally sent a signal as he saw the data displayed on his HUD while he spoke.

**"Rerouting all power to external audio…"**

"If you ever attempt to harm my allies,"

**"Power reroute successful…"**

"I WILL FEAST ON YOUR BEATING HEART."

His robotic voice could be heard quite clearly up to a mile away, and most of the Varden covered their ears at his threat.

Mekalo was pleased that Thorn knew who was in charge here, if his undragonly whimpering was any sign. Eragon soon woke up and proceeded to have a mental conversation between himself and Thorn with Mekalo listening in.

_"You and Murtagh are official prisoners of the Varden. Do not attempt to resist any binding, or we will have a large armored figure convince you it is in your best interest."_

Thorn understood who Eragon was referring to, and quickly consented. As he oversaw Thorn being escorted away, he grabbed his shield and noticed most of the Varden looked even more intimidated by his presence. The elves appeared to be less unnerved, but they too avoided him. It was not every day that a dragon was demolished by sheer strength.

Some members of the Varden found objects to tie Thorn down with. They were woefully inadequate. Not that they could be blamed, they were not prepared to constrict a dragon's movement.

~~~TTTTT~~~

Though Thorn could easily break his current restraints, the large figure behind him was all the motivation he needed. Plus, he didn't want to go back to Galbatorix. Maybe he and Murtagh could change their true names while they were imprisoned amongst the Varden. Thorn was hopefully as he laid down to rest. What was that thing?

It had the strength of a dragon, it wielded its strange and deadly magic that burned everything, and it radiated a sense a fear into everything around. Thorn was more unnerved by its mind; it was so alien, so dark, and so consuming. He hoped to not have to fight the figure again.

~~~TTT~~~

_A throne room located in the Empire's capital city._

Galbatorix sat on his throne, chin resting lazily on his left knuckles. He wore a grand robe over his fine, silk clothing, sword sheathed around his waist, waiting as a scout appeared in his throne room and bowed.

"I thought Murtagh was supposed to tell me what happened..."

The tone was threatening enough, and the scout knew as he was rapidly sweating and stuttering.

"m-m-my king, Murtagh a-and Thorn w-were captured."

The scout tried to cry out as he felt an immense pressure all over his body. He was lifted into the air, arms spread out, slightly back. Head staring directly into the king's face as Galbatorix growled,

"How."

"t-the massive creature, m-my king. It destroyed m-many of the soldiers, and t-then it f-f-fought Thorn and easily d-defeated him."

Galbatorix stared off in the distance. Such power would be useful to him; he only needed to capture it. He moved his gaze onto the scout's trembling face coated in fresh tears.

"We must capture this creature at all costs. With it our victory would be all but assured."

The scout didn't have time to answer, given that his spinal column was not where it should be, and fresh brain matter was strung over the throne room walls.

Galbatorix smirked. All things bent to his will, and this thing would be no different.


	7. Missions of War

**AN: Sup, I guess this is where I'll start deviating from cannon, considering Thorn and Murtagh were captured last chapter instead of escaping. I think I found my schedule of around one chapter a week; we will see.**

Is it surprising that a communion of worms would be bored after no combat in so long a time? Mekalo had earned some favor in the Varden after his tussle with Thorn. He became an important figure of strength to them. They feared and respected his presence there, and seemed to be… hopeful when they were graced to have him in their sights.

After careful negotiations, he would join certain groups on their missions. Though people were doubtful of his usefulness in stealth (his active camo was a closely-guarded secret), they would not tell him face to forerunner-alloyed-chest plate.

Mekalo was prepped and ready for combat. He was personally asked by Nasuada to keep Roran's group safe while they raided a supply convoy. The mission seemed simple: get in, fuck shit up, retrieve objective, and get out, but he knew if it sounded simple someone was going to die.

This was a universal constant he observed in his life. The simpler the mission sounded the stranger and more violent it was in practice. The goal could be to buy a teddy bear from a carnival stand. Somehow a meteor would strike the stand, and release a shark that was on fire to devour to poor person blessed with the mission. Or the teddy bear would spontaneously combust and spill acid on the poor retrievalist.

But alas, Mekalo was thinking ahead of himself. Surely this mission would go fine. He was ready, and soon left with the group of men. All they had to do was raid a supply convoy. They would quickly go in, kill everything not allied with them, and leave with supplies.

Ironically, Mekalo was glad Eragon had to go help pick the dwarf king, or whatever he was doing. As long as Mekalo didn't have to do politics he didn't care. If Eragon were here, he might have been given Mekalo's task. Then what would he have done? Hunters can't twiddle their thumbs.

Apparently they were getting close, because the captain… Captain Mark Neckbeard, or something like that, held up his hand at the front of the convoy. This was, of course, the universal gesture for all personal to cease forward movement.

Some explanation Mekalo really didn't pay attention to later, and the group set out on their raid. They swiftly and skillful bashed skulls and shields in while chasing down stragglers. Mekalo took the chance to observe Roran.

He watched the rider's cousin fight and kill skillfully with that hammer of his. Mekalo approved, blunt force is the best force, and it is best forced through a large blunt object, like a hammer or 4,000 pound shield.

**(That last sentence was confusing as hell to write)**

Roran managed to slay 4 men by himself. This was impressive for someone who did not have plasma or projectile weaponry, mechanical or genetic augmentations, or did not train to fight a long war.

Mekalo enjoyed himself regardless. It was pure bliss. There is no feeling that compares to the sensation of crushing a man's ribs, or watching his body turn to a liquid state. He did not understand the looks of disgust he often got from other soldiers.

They finished rather quickly. It was sad really, the imperial soldiers only screamed for a short time. Most ran at the sight of Mekalo charging his assault cannon. He did not falter as he turned their bodies to ash; he had a reputation to uphold after all.

Soon they returned to the Varden, and tales of their success spread quickly. Mekalo did not partake in any relaxing activities. He spent his time learning, training, and thinking. He needed to stay sharp. The other members of the Covenant would laugh in his face if he died to these weaklings.

Between missions he was finally given a purpose. Unfortunately it was the incredibly boring job of watching over Thorn and Murtagh. He did not have to do much, the dragon was afraid to even breathe in his presence.

He was ecstatic when he finally got another mission to accomplish. He didn't remember what it was about, and he really didn't care. He followed the group out of the Varden's encampment, and thought he remembered they were doing more supply raids.

The events leading up to this were unimportant, but someone they were fighting the need-to-be-extra-crushed-guys. They were the imperial soldiers that didn't feel pain, quite the annoying bunch.

They had split up into 4 groups: one group of men led by Roran, one led by Neckbeard, one led by some unimportant person, and then there was just Mekalo. Somehow they ended up ambushing those annoying men that felt no pain.

The men seemed to make a much bigger deal of the situation than they needed. So what if they were messing legs and tried to crawl towards you? These soldiers would have fainted on sight of the Flood. At least the imperials had the decency to not laugh in Mekalo's face, err groin, err foot after they lost their legs to burning chemicals or a large shield; such a thing was inevitable.

The other groups even had the nerve to retreat across a river! They made him do all the work, but he honestly didn't mind. Swords, fists, and arrows bounced harmlessly off every part of his body. They had no magicians to even pose a small threat, nor severe enough number to be overwhelming.

He was pretty sure the other 3 groups were shouting at him to retreat, in fact he was 100% sure. He just chose to ignore it. He faced the soldiers and began loudly humming his favorite tunes as he became focused solely on the battle. Soldiers fell left and right, up and down, forwards and backwards. Some were crushed into dirt, some put into positions that rendered them helpless regardless if they were alive or not, and some were more-or-less flowing around the battlefield.

Few soldiers made it past him, and the few that succeeded in escaping his lust for battle fell to arrows from the remaining groups.

Slowly, but assuredly, the other groups rejoined the fight with him leading the slaughter. Bodies were tossed aside, the river polluted with their presence. After no more than 2 minutes, all the Imperial soldiers lay dead, and none for team Varden's. The soldiers were just staring at Mekalo, not that he cared. It was deathly silent, except for the flow of the river and the sizzling of some recent corpses.

Mekalo saw that Neckbeard looked angry about something; it was probably the fact that he ignored his recommendation to retreat, or that Mekalo shattered his image of self-esteem. He looked like he was about to yell at the hunter, though he wisely decided against it when he stepped in a puddle of imperial soldier.

The trek back lasted in silence, no more than hushed whispers being spoken. He was sure Neckbeard would yell at Nasuada later for his actions in saving lives.

They arrived back at camp though, and people were relieved. It was an often overlooked aspect of war, but more than one person was touched when a soldier died. They had spouses and children often waiting for them to make a safe return.

He knew this was why the soldiers did not hate him for what he did; he ensured they would see their loved ones again. Even if they did hate him, what were they going to do about it?

So, the time came when Nasuada wanted to speak with him. It was brief, and exceedingly boring. Mekalo said what needed to be said, though with more elegance. He doubted Nasuada would appreciate him saying that Captain Neckbeard was a spineless coward that needed to be feasted upon by Kig-Yar.

He was cleared of any potential wrong-doing. Partly because he saved many individuals, partly because Neckbeard was incompetent, and mostly because Mekalo was independent of others. Nasuada was the only one in camp with any power over him, and he let her do it willingly. He was an ally of the Varden, not a weapon to be commanded about by the common homo-sapiens.

Mekalo then took up his task of guard duty once more. For reasons unknown to him they decided to imprison Thorn and Murtagh next to each other. That was an error that he would have corrected had his say mattered. Apparently they wouldn't kill the security-risks because of some true name business. Mekalo was unsure what to think about that.

Who decided a name should have that much power? The concept really didn't make sense to him. Really though, that tied into the fact that the ancient language didn't make any sense either. Apparently individuals had to call upon the energy within using words because they could die from stray thoughts? At least, that's what Eragon told him. That made no sense either, why couldn't they just project the energy in a thought and be done with it? Why did the ancients have so much control over the current magicians?

This was very much ironic given how much the Forerunners influenced the humans and Covenant alike. Still, words did not have that much power. Mekalo would find a way to prove it to them, and if what he was told was correct, Murtagh and Thorn could call off their forced allegiance with Galbatorix.

Now though? Mekalo would be content to sit and wait for the next conflict, until he got bored in a day or two. He was beginning to debate philosophy with himself because there was not enough battle, and it really made him curious what he would do when he returned to his home world… If he returned…

Mekalo walked back to his secluded grove after his 'shift' was up. He stared up into the sky, wondering, watching, waiting. His existence was not a mere accident, he was sure of that. He would succeed in helping topple the empire, and he would succeed in returning home.

This he was certain of, and at that moment when he got into a meditative trance, he was certain enough to make it into his personal universal law.


End file.
